The company told analysts it added more than 120,000 customers to its Medicare Advantage program this month.

UnitedHealth reported net income of $726 million, or 60 cents a share, compared with $1.22 billion, or 92 cents, a year earlier. Its adjusted profit of 78 cents a share met the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

The company maintained its outlook for 2009 earnings of $2.90 to $3.15 a share.